Cash or parcel carrier or distributer.



Patented lune Il, |90I.

No. 676,o5o.

w. H. sHEPPAnn.

CASH 0R PARCEL CARRIER 0R DISTRIBUTER.

(Application lsd June 80, 1898. Renewed Sept. 22, 1899.)

(lla Model.)

1 Fmi. F162.

A TTOHNE Y me annu rnslls co. mum-umu. summon n. c

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

WILLIAM Il. SIIEPPARD, OF NEV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE LAWSON CONSOLIDATED STORE SERVICE COMPANY, OF NEWARK, NElV JERSEY.

CASH OR PARCEL CARRIER OR DISTRIBUTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 676,050, dated June 11, 1901.

IApplication filed .lune 30, 1898. Renewed Scptem To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, WILLIAM Il. SHEPPARD, of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Cash or Parcel Carrier Distributer, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to devices for distributing cash or parcel carriers, particularly that class of carriers propelled through tubes by pneumatic power. In the present system all the carriers passing through a tube are discharged into one basket or receptacle, from which they must be taken by the salesman. This sometimes causes confusion and loss of time in case of salesmen at opposite sides of a counter upon which the basket is placed, because a salesman is apt to pick up a carrier belonging to a salesman at the opposite side of the counter, and the error cannot usually be found out without examining the contents of the carrier.

It is the object of my invention to provide a simple and comparatively inexpensive device for distributing or discharging carriers in opposite directions, thus making sure the delivery of the carriers to the proper persons.

I will describe a carrier-distributer embodying myinvention and then point out the novel features in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of a distributer embodying my invention, showing one form of carrier employed partly entered therein. Fig. 2 is a vertical section at right angles to Fig. 1 without the carrier. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 shows one form of carrier employed, while another form of carrier is shown in Fig. 1.

The distributer comprises a cup or receiver 1, placed with its open upper end in line with the outlet of the pneumatic tube 2. The cup or receiver has trunnions 3, having bearings in uprights 4, extended from a base 5, the trunnions being below the longitudinal center of the cup or receiver.

Mounted to swing vertically at opposite her22,1899. Serial No.731,353. (No model.)

sides of the base 5 are latch-plates 6 7. The latch-plate G at its free end has a central horizontally-disposed finger 8, and at the sides thereof are upwardly and inwardly inclined fingers 9. The plate 7 at its free end has a central upwardly and inwardly inclined finger 10, and at the sides thereof are horizontally-disposed fingers 11.

Movable through an openingin the bottom 6o of the cup or receiver 1 is a trip-rod 12, the lower end of which normally rests upon the finger 8 of the latch-plate 6, and the upper end, which is extended somewhat into the cup or receiver, is provided with a head 13, between which and the bottom of the cup or receiver a spring 14 is arranged. Surrounding the rod 12 within the cup or receiver and movable relatively thereto is a plate 15. This plate is held yieldingly upward by means of a spring 7o 1G, placed between it and the bottom of the cup or receiver. At opposite sides of the rod 12 trip-rods 17 1S extend downward from the plate 15 through holes in the bottom of the cup or receiver 1 and normally engage their 75 lower ends with the fingers 11 of the latchplate 7. It may be here stated that the plates 6 and 7 are held yieldingly in their latching position by means of a spring 19.

Pivoted to lugs on the bottom of the cup or 8o receiver is an angle-lever 20, the lower end of which normally engages against the end of the finger 1() of the plate 7 and also against the rod 12. The horizontally-disposed portion of this angle-lever projects into a slot 21, formed in the rod 12, and it will be seen that this slot is somewhat longer than the width of the lever, so that there may be a slight downward movement of the rod before it engages with and operates the lever, as will be 9o hereinafter described. Angle-levers 22 23 have their horizontally-disposed portions engaged, respectively, in slots formed in the rods 17 18, and their lower ends engage with the fingers 9 of the plate 6, and they also en- 95 gage against their respective rods. The slots in the rods 17 and 18 are sufficiently long to allow for a short downward movement of the rods before engaging and operating the levers. These levers 20, 22, and 28 perform two roo functions-that is, they serve to hold the cup or receiver in its vertical position and also serve to start the cup or receiver in its tilting or dumping movement, and therefore I term these holding and starting levers.

For use with this invention two forms of carriersare to be made-that is, one carrier is designed to engage and operate the rod 12 and another is designed to engage and force down the plate 15 without moving the rod 12. For this purpose one carrier 24c has its end made flat or solid, so as to engage with the rod 12, while the other carrier 25 has a hole 2G in its end and into which the head of the rod 12 may pass while the end of the carrier engages the plate 15. Otherwise the carriers are of the usual construction.

In operation when a carrier like 2-1 falls into the cup or receiver it strikes and moves the rod 12 downward, and such movement of the rod forces the plate 6 down to release the fingers 9 from the levers 22 23. At this time the upper end wall of the slot 21 will have reached the lever 20, so that by a further downward movement of the rod 12 the lever 2O will be rocked, and as it bears against the finger 10 it will move the cup or receiver to the position indicated by dotted lines Then the cup or receiver will tilt by gravity to the position indicated by dotted lines y, when the cup or receiver will be discharged, after which as the lower portion of the cup overbalances the upper portion it will automatically swing to its normal position. Vhen a carrier like 25 falls into the cup, it will engage the plate 15 and force the plate 7 down, releasing the finger 10 from the lever 20, when the cup will be caused to tilt in the opposite direction by the operation of the levers 22 and 23.

In brief, it may be stated that the receiver is pivoted ata point above its center of gravity when empty but below the center of gravity when loaded,so as to be tilted when loaded to discharge the load.

A device embodying my invention will be found useful not only in large stores, but in elegraph-ofices, newspaper-offices, and the Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A distributer for cash or parcel carriers, comprising a receiver, for carriers, pivoted at a point which is above its center of gravity when empty, but below it when loaded, so as to be capable of tilting with the load, means for starting the receiver, and devices in the path of incoming carriers for releasing and actuating the starting means whereby, the receiver may be tilted sulliciently to discharge the carrier, substantially as specified.

2. A distributer for cash or parcelcarriers, comprising a receiver pivoted at a point which is above its center of gravity when empty, but below it when loaded, so as to be capable of tilting when loaded, two starting devices for the receiver, and a releasing and actuating device for each starting device, the said releasing and starting devices being in the path of incoming carriers and differently formed to be actuated by correspondingly-formed carriers, substantially as specified.

3. A distributer for cash or parcel carriers, comprisinga tilting receiver, spring-held pivoted latch-plates below the receiver, a triprod extended through the bottom of the receiver and engaging with one of the latchplates, a plate in the receiver below the plane of the top ofthe trip-rod, a trip-rod extended from said plate and engaging with the other of said latch-plates, an angle-lever for engaging with one of the latch-plates and actuated by the first-named trip-rod, and an angle-lever for engaging with the other latch-plate and operated by the second-named trip-rod, substantially as specified.

4. Ina cash or parcel carrier distributer, a receiver provided with independent actuating mechanism adapted to be actuated by differently-formed carriers to move the receiver in different directions, means for holding'the receiver normally in position to receive the carriers, and means whereby one form of carrier will release and move the receiver in 011e direction to deliver a carrier, and another form of carrier will release and move the receiver in another direction to deliver a carrier.

5. In a cash or parcel carrier distributer, a tilting receiver provided with independent actuating mechanism adapted to be actuated by dierently-formed carriers to move the receiver in different directions, means for holding the receiver normally in position to receive the carriers, and means whereby one form of carrier will release and move the receiver in one direction to deliver a carrier, and another form of carrier will release and move the receiver in anotherdirection to deliver a carrier.

VILLIAM H. SHE PPARD.

Witnesses:

JNO. M. RITTER, C. R. FERGUSON.

IOO 

